NYCSLS Library Advisory Council
Council Meeting #3
Date: March 4, 2009
Time: 12:00 - 3:00pm
Place: Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza Branch

Members in attendance: Kathy Steves, Linda Williams Bowie, Linda Cooper, Linda Cuff, Christine Hatami, Carol Katz, Bernadine Lowery-Crute, Danita Nichols, Beth St.John, Andrea Vaughn, Susie Walter, Sally Young, Viviane Lampach

Office staff in attendance: Esther McRae, Elizabeth Naylor-Gutierrez, Judith Schaffner, Lynne Kresta Smith

Documents at meeting:
NYTimes article "In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update"

Agenda:
12:00 - 12:30 Eat, meet, greet, introductions - Kathy Steves, NYCSLS Council Chairperson
12:30 - 1:00 News from Council Members
1:00 - 2:00 NYCSLS Activity Reports
2:00 - 2:30 Work of Library Advisory Council
2:30 - 3:00 Fall 2009 Conference
2:30 - 3:00 Announcements, new business, member concerns

Elizabeth Naylor-Gutierrez reports:
The SLMS conference in Saratoga Springs (April 30 - May 2) is sponsored by SLSA. There will be many professional development offerings including workshops presented by Linda Cuff and other NYC librarians, numerous authors and a presentation about the TRAILS assessment.

Judith Schaffner reports:
The NYTimes article and video featuring Stephanie Rosalia with new technologies in the library resonated nationally and is being used as an advocacy tool by librarians everywhere. Sally raised the issue of real problems with using technology, including projectors that don't work, wireless connections going down, etc. Teachers may not work in the same room throughout the day which makes it difficult to use a Smartboard. Teachers and librarians using technology need tech assistance which is not readily available. Sally stated that teachers and librarians should have a back-up plan when technology is down.
The 8 Million Reasons to Read funding came in and the grant application has been re-opened for 108 middle schools. The book collections have been chosen and SLS is meeting with the Macy's design team. The launch will be in the fall with publicity materials, reading promotion activities and a survey designed for librarians and students.
SLS has won the H.W.Wilson Professional Development Award of $3,500 which is only given to one SLS nationwide. Barbara Stripling will receive the award at the ALA banquet.

Elizabeth Naylor-Gutierrez reports:
Melissa and Barbara are not in attendance because they are working on a school library literacy grant. The grant targets 10 low income elementary schools in the Bronx. It includes teacher and librarian professional development, digital cameras and bookmaking software. The grant is asking for $500,000.

Judith Schaffner reports:
Barbara has done the bulk of the work on the Project-Based Learning Guide draft. It is part of the middle school initiative, captures the inquiry process and will dramatically increase the use of the library. This was commissioned by the DOE and is scheduled to be submitted for review on Friday (March 6).
The two-day WNET annual technology event will include a presentation by Barbara and Melissa on digital primary resources. It will be attended by people from the Tri-state area.

Esther McRae reports:
Destiny now has 533 sites and is operating Version 9.0. The database has been cleaned up and the ability to perform original cataloging has beed stopped to prevent errors. There will be a free trial of MARC magician which will include tutorials. SLS has wikis for automation and many other topics for librarians to use. We have added an advanced Destiny training session.
Judith Schaffner reports:
The SLS budget will be cut by 40%, 18% across the board. The SLS budget comes from several streams and the supplemental budgets were cut by the state. Barbara is hopeful that some of that may be restored. Next year's budget is unknown but the plan is to maintain staff and move to tech-based professional development.
Lynne Kresta Smith reports:
The Library Advisory Committee includes lead librarians from throughout the city who share best practices. OIT was slashed from 60 to 1 person. People were moved from OIT to ARIS, an $80 million effort to organize data. It could possibly be used by librarians to collect information, add resources and create communities.

Judith Schaffner reports:
The Fall Conference is in the planning stages. It will be held at Brooklyn Tech on Election Day. Discussion on the pros and cons of last years event included the problem of meetings being closed out, the student guides needed more guidance to assist people effectively, more signage is needed, and the vendors had no wireless connection in the cafeteria. It was suggested that we use a "tech" floor to avoid that or have vendors bring their own media cards. Under the new contract and purchasing agreements, there will only be 3 big jobbers next year and publishers may be invited. We are looking for suggestions for a theme, keynote speaker and authors. Workshop evaluations will be reviewed.

Andrea Vaughn (BPL) reports:
Sunday hours in Brooklyn have been cut. Students are being encouraged to sign up for the Summer Reading program by May 1st. Teachers are being encouraged to use the titles on the summer reading list to ensure availability. Teachers could also provide more flexibility by suggesting a series or an author.

Danita Nichols (NYPL) reports:
The annual teen reading list "Stuff for the Teenage 2009" is scheduled for a March 21st celebration at the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. It is a multi-format, multimedia list of the 100 best titles nominated by teens. The list will be posted online. There will be no print list this year.

Carol Katz (QPL) reports:
Construction is ongoing at Central. Storytelling Month is now planned for October. Queens received an ILMS grant to develop a social networking tool.

Announcements
The next meeting is scheduled for May 14th but Barbara will not be able to attend. A new date will be determined.

Submitted by: Christine Hatami